meds

[soulclutch]

I've heard that taking antidepressants disqualifies anyone wanting to enlist in the military. Is this true?

[ping9798]

Yes, it's a disqualifier. If you go off the meds, you need a waiver stating you have not been on them for a year. This can change from state to state so you would have to verify with a recruiter.

I went through a whole load of b.s. talking with my recruiter and one of the last questions he asked was about medications. At the time, I was taking Zoloft as an antidepressant and he said it would disqualify me.

Basically, they are worried that if you go off them cold turkey, you may become suicidal and/or homicidal. There's no way to guarentee during a deployment that you can have access to your medication. Plus being in a place like BCT or AIT, it is a stressful situation to begin with, and to add the possibility of going cold turkey off meds is a bad combination.

There are pretty much two options: continue taking your meds and not be able to join; or go off them. If you're considering going off your meds, you MUST wean yourself off. If you aren't familiar with that, the easiest way to do this (after consulting with your doctor to see if he/she thinks it's a good idea): take the regular dosage for 2 weeks, take half the dosage for two weeks, continue with the 1/2 dose but take it every other week for two weeks. I used this method after talking with my doctor - I don't recommend doing anything until speaking with them.

I personally tried going off to make sure I would be okay - the worst that could have happened is I would have felt bad and went back on them, and going without my dream of being in the military. The process ended up going fine, and I will be enlisting after I finish two classes to get my degree.

Hopefully this helped you. If you have any other questions I might be able to help with, feel free to email me. People can tell you what they've heard, but I went through the whole process so I have personal experience ontop of facts.

Good luck to you.

Lindsay
ping9798@hotmail.com

[AbnMtn]

Pay close attention to the previous posting. DO NOT try to get off your meds without medical supervision. Make sure that you're monitored by your doctor while you're weaning off the meds and follow their instructions.

[Chris89]

Do not try to get off your meds without your Doctor Permission you need to be off meds for 1 year.

[sendkeys]

Does anyone take anything like thyriod or any type of hormone treatment? Something along the lines as it makes you feel better but you really don't need it to live.

I'm wondering how that would work out to join.